Granular material, such as sand or hydraulic fracturing proppant, is used in bulk quantity in a number of applications. For example, in hydraulic fracture drilling by oil and gas and other industries, fracturing fluid, along with a granular proppant material such as sand and/or ceramics, is pumped into a drill well to create and prop open fractures in rock. Often, activities requiring large amounts of granular material are performed in a remote location, requiring granular material to be shipped in for example by road, rail or water. For such activities, it is desirable to have sufficient and often large amounts of granular material readily available for adequately reliably carrying out operations.
One component of an on-site mobile granular material delivery system is a mobile conveyor, which receives the material from a source such as a delivery truck, barge or rail car and conveys the material to an elevated location such as the input of a storage container. However, existing mobile conveyors can suffer from a variety of drawbacks, such complexity of operation potentially requiring a large number of personnel, and various mechanical design limitations that can limit performance of the delivery system.
In addition, concerns have been raised around the risk of silicosis due to inhalation of proppant material used in hydraulic fracturing, as well as other fine granular materials. Open conveyor systems may emit large amounts of dust and therefore pose a significant workplace health and safety risk. Dust mitigation is therefore a desirable feature of bulk material handling systems.
Therefore there is a need for a bulk granular material conveyor system that is not subject to one or more limitations of the prior art.
This background information is provided for the purpose of making known information believed by the applicant to be of possible relevance to the present invention. No admission is necessarily intended, nor should be construed, that any of the preceding information constitutes prior art against the present invention.